Forbidden Memories
by DarkHand27
Summary: Ed and Al meet a strange girl that has been fused with a homunculus. Will her alterego take over or not? Even if she wins the battle, how will she be a peace with herself?
1. Chapter 1: Atlanta

Forbidden Memories – Chapter One

Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist

A/N: … This is my first Fullmetal Alchemist Fanfic. I doubt it will go far, but I just want to tell everyone that I've only seen up to the episodes that Adult Swim has shown (about episode 20 or so) , so I might get some facts wrong, okay? If I do, please tell me.

Ed: Everything's wrong.

Me: Shut it…

Chapter One: Atlanta

"Ed, wake up. We're almost at our stop." Al gently shook his brother awake. The teenage alchemist was slumped in his seat. With a groan, Ed sat up just as the train blew its whistle and came to a stop.

The two left the train station and, amid a bunch of overexcited tourists, made their way to the city of Atlanta. (I couldn't think of another name… -sweatdrop-) The city was overflowing with activity, and looked pretty chaotic.

Ed casually stepped into the main street. Immediately, a group of vendors smothered him and shoved cheap souvenirs into his face. At the same time, words like, "It's a one-in-a-lifetime offer," spilled from their mouths.

"Look at the splendor of this beautiful jade necklace," said one, chattering rapidly in a strange Arabian accent, "Give this to your girlfriend, and she will never look upon another man in her life."

With a groan Ed brushed him off without even glancing at the plastic necklace he was waving in his face. And, with his small size to an advantage, (Ed: Who are you calling SMALL?) Ed snuck out from under them. He brushed off some dust on his clothes, and continued walking.

Al quickly apologized for his brother. His big size kept him from moving quickly through the crowded area, and he was often bumping into a people.

"Ed, wait for me," he yelled as he rushed forwards to catch up. Bam! Somebody gave a strangled yell as he collided head first with Al.

Unfortunately for Al, the person was a man with a HUGE beard. Apparently drunk, he confronted Al thinking he was his girlfriend.

"Hey, Susie-girl. How come you turned all big and metal?" he said sluggishly, with the occasional hiccup here and there. "

"U-uh… You must have me mistaken for somebody else…" stammered Al, completely taken aback.

After avoiding all the merchants that had come at him, Ed finally noticed that Al had fallen behind. He called for Al to hurry up, but noticed the drunk dude trying to pull Al towards a bathhouse. He rushed over and yelled, "Come on, Al!"

"Hey!" the drunk guy stepped in front of Al. He raised his fists at Ed and hiccupped. "You tryin' to steal my Susie, pipsqueak?"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A PIPSQUEAK SO TINY YOU CAN ONLY SEE IT THROUGH A MAGNIFYING GLASS?"

Hiccup.

"Come on Ed," Al said, holding the infuriated Ed by the collar, "It's no use trying to talk to him. We don't want to draw too much attention, either."

As proof, the guy walked into a vendor selling ornamental seashells and tried to order ramen from him.

Things became less insane as they entered a quieter part of the city.

"This city is messed up," groaned Ed, strands of hair sticking out from his head. His feet thumped loudly against the cobblestone road.

"We still have to find our inn," Al said, "I'm sure you're getting hungry."

Ed ignored the comment and said, "No wonder why Mustang told me to come here…"

"Ed…"

"I know, I know… Now where's that stupid inn…"

"SHIT!"

The Elric brothers looked in surprise at where the sound had come from. A teenage girl on the opposite side of the street had somehow gotten mud all over her.

Ed walked over to her and offered, "Hey I can get that mud—"

He was cut short when the girl clapped her hands. A familiar glowing blue light shined for a moment and then stopped. Clean from mud, she gathered her things and started to continue along her way, still cursing under her breath.

"Brother, did you see that?" Al asked. Ed nodded, and started towards her again.

"Excuse me, but are you an alchemist?" Ed asked the girl. She looked at him strangely and replied slowly, "No… why would I be?"

"We saw you use alchemy to get rid of the mud," said Al.

"Really? I always thought alchemy was the weird magic stuff where people use messed-up circles that glow…"

Ed and Al sweatdropped at her description of alchemy.

"…What you just did was alchemy." Ed said, trying to be patient.

"Your point?"

"If you know how to do alchemy, then you're an alchemist!" he yelled. Apparently, his patience was gone already.

"But I'm not an alchemist."

Ed sweatdropped again at her answer. "Uh… yea. Anyways, do you know where the inn is?"

The girl looked at him like he was stupid. "There's around thirty inns in this city." She stopped. "You're a tourist, aren't you?"

"Just answer my question."

"Well, my parents own an inn just around the corner. It's pretty cheap there, I guess… You can come with me, since I'm heading home right now."

"Sure, why not?" said Al.

And so, the pair headed toward the inn with the girl.

"Okay then, what's your name?" asked the girl cheerfully. She had short brown hair and wide blue eyes, and she didn't seem to be able to walk at a normal pace, with her frantic hopping and skipping.

"My name is Alphonse, but you can just call me Al," said Al.

"And I," announced Ed, "am Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist."

"…Is that supposed to be a good thing?"

"Of course it is, you dimwit!"

"Whatever, you evil alien alchemy-person." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"What's your name?" asked Al, hoping to change the flow of the conversation.

They had reached a small brick building with the newly painted words "Radley Inn." The girl pranced to the door and replied, "My name, is Pacifica Radley."

Ed gave a start when she said her name. It sounded familiar…

She opened the door and yelled, "Mom, Dad! These people want to stay at our inn!"

A big burly man with choppy yellow hair appeared at the doorway, followed by a slim female with long blond hair that reached up to her shoulder blades. She had it tied up in a ponytail, and her sleeves were rolled back. In her hand she held a ladle.

"Nice to meet y—" he stopped as he noticed Ed's pocket watch showing from inside his pocket, and then looked at him sharply. "Are you from the state?"

"The Fullmetal Alchemist at your service," he replied, fully revealing the silver pocket watch of the state alchemists.

At that, the man's face formed a giant grin. "Well, look at that. The one and only Fullmetal Alchemist just randomly appears at our doorway. We'll give you an extra discount in honor of your services to the people."

"Well, thank you very much," said Ed, grinning at Pacifica, who grumbled and went upstairs. Just as she reached the top step, her mother called her back down to make preparations for Ed and Al's room. Curses soon followed as she stomped back down.

"You're lucky we don't have a lot of customers today," the woman smiled at the brothers and said, "Oh, how rude. We haven't even introduced ourselves yet. I'm Pacifica's mother and my name is Cassandra. Her dad, over there, is Peter, and we both run this inn, with a few volunteer helpers."

"We know," said Ed.

Al laughed as Cassandra gave him a puzzled look. "Pacifica told us everything on our way here."

At that Pacifica poked her head through the doorway. "You aren't talking about me, are you? Anyways, the room is ready."

Peter stood up and said, "And dinner is in just a few minutes, right Cassandra?"

Cassandra suddenly remembered what she was supposed to be doing and rushed off to the kitchens, hoping nothing had blown up.

"If you don't mind, we're having ramen tonight," said Pete. "You can go see your rooms now if you want."

Ed and Al walked into a small and bleak room accompanied with a bathroom. Two beds lay opposite of each other.

"Thank you, sir," said Al, slightly bowing his head.

Pete laughed and said, "You can just call me Pete."

A few minutes later, just as Pete had said, the dinner bell rang. The two headed towards a large room at the back of the building with a big wooden sign that said "Cafeteria" on it. Cassandra, accompanied by a few other maids, could be seen distributing food to some of the other people staying at the inn. Immediately, Ed started stuffing his face with ramen. Al just sat there without touching his food.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?" asked Pacifica, confused that he wasn't eating.

"Uh… It's okay. I'm not hungry."

With a loud slurp, Ed finished his bowl of ramen and grabbed Al's.

"You know Ed, no matter how much you eat, I don't think you'll get any taller," remarked Pacifica with a smirk.

Before Ed could reply, Cassandra came in and said, "Well I can fix that. Here's a _big, tall, glass of **milk**_."

Pacifica quickly took her glass and gulped it down in one sitting. Ed watched in disgust as she wiped her milk mustache away with her napkin. He ignored the cup of milk and continued eating his ramen.

After she finished her milk, Pacifica started cooing at Ed, "Come on, you wittle stupid shorty. Drink this biiiig, tall glass of milk and maybe you won't be so wittle anymore."

"My brother has something against milk," said Al, "I keep telling him he should eat it and get taller, but he's pretty stubborn."

Finally fed up, Ed stood up and yelled, "Of course I have something against that crap! Just look at it! Why the hell would I want to drink a disgusting white liquid that comes from a cow's BUTT?"

"Drink meeee…., drink meee." Pacifica pushed the glass towards Ed. She laughed. This guy was so easy to piss off. She could do this forever.

Pete came over to check up on them. "Now, now… Pacifica, you have to be courteous to this alchemist." With that, he took the glass of milk, drained it, and walked away.

"Courteous my ass," grumbled Pacifica soon after.

After dinner, Ed and Al retired to their rooms. Ed was lying down on his bed, staring at the ceiling while Al just sat on the edge of his.

"Brother?" started Al.

"Yes?"

"We both saw Pacifica perform alchemy, right?"

"Yea."

"Then how come she denies being an alchemist?"

"How would I know?" Ed sighed. "But whether she says so or not, she's definitely an experienced alchemist. That wasn't any alchemy she did. It was alchemy without circles."

"Does that mean that she has come in contact with human transmutation before?"

"Most likely."

A/N: MAJOR SPOILER WARNING for those who have only seen the Adult Swim episodes. Okay, well in the manga, it says that in order to be able to do alchemy without an array, you need to have seen through the gate and seen the 'truth'. One of the ways to see the gate is during a human transmutation, which is why Ed and Izumi can do it. (Izumi used Human Transmutation to revive her son, I think.)

Ed sighed again and got up from the bed. He fumbled with his suitcase for a moment, and drew out a large yellow envelope. It was the full-description of his task for the military.

"What did Mustang tell you to do this time?" inquired Al.

"We're supposed to go fetch somebody back to Central for questioning. I can't believe he gives me crappy jobs like these…" replied Ed as he skimmed through the documents.

His eyes widened as he read, "…Pacifica Radley from the city of Atlanta for an interrogation."

A/N: I know this chapter kinda sucked, was a bit rushed, and lacked a lot of details, but I promise the story will get better, so please review. No flames, just stuff that will help me to improve and, of course, I'll need lots of support!


	2. Chapter 2: Rubberbands

Forbidden Memories Ch2 

Disclaimer: I don't own FMA.

A/N: I hope I get some more reviewers… But anyways, I added some things to the first chapter (not much, though…) and I have a question regarding "Alchemy without circles." Here it is: Does it have to be during a Human transmutation to be able to see inside the gate? And, is it called the "truth" or something? I just want to clarify…

Thanks to those who reviewed!

Chapter Two: Rubber bands

Ed quickly read over the first few lines of his task again. Something strange was going on. First they saw her perform alchemy without a transmutation circle right before their eyes only to find that she completely denied being an alchemist, and now the military was bringing her in for questioning.

He motioned for Al to come over here and said, "Al, look at this."

"What is it, Ed?" Al leaned forward and skimmed the page with curiosity. The words "Pacifica Radley" jumped out at him from the paper.

"She's the one they want me to bring in for questioning," Ed said as Al looked up from the paper.

"But why?" asked Al. "Out of all the people in this town, I never though _she_ would be the one you were supposed to…"

He trailed off as Ed showed him the military's basic profile page for Pacifica.

"Look here," Ed said as he pointed at a paragraph at the bottom of the page. "It says that she got amnesia when she was six years old after her house was burnt down. Here parents died in the fire so they sent to her a local orphanage where she was adopted by Pete and Cassandra, and brought here."

"Still, why would the military want to question her? She probably doesn't remember anything that happened before she was adopted."

Ed kept scanning the whole thing over and over again. He didn't find what he was looking for.

"Ed, what are you doing?" Al asked curiously.

"Darn it… It doesn't say anything about her being an alchemist…" muttered Ed.

"Maybe the military doesn't—"

Al was cut off as the door was swung wide open. Ed quickly hid the papers under the bed sheet.

Pacifica ran into the room and yelled, "Hey guys! I'm done with all of my stupid chores, so I can hang out with you guys for a while."

The two alchemists stared at her blankly. An awkward silence settled in afterwards.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Oh, O-of course not," stammered Al. "We were just surprised to see you burst through the door like that."

"Okay then. So, do you want to come see my room? After all, yours is just a guest room so it's just dull and boring." She looked around the half empty room.

Al nodded and said, "Sure, why not?" He stood up and headed out the door.

Ed sighed, sat up from the bed and said, "I'll be there in a sec. I have to…" He motioned towards the bathroom.

"Oh… um, well my room is upstairs, and it's the last door on the right, k?"

Ed smiled and got up as if he was going to the bathroom. As soon as she left, he took out the papers from under the bedcovers, tucked them safely back within the envelope and shoved it into the suitcase. Then he looked towards the bathroom, shrugged, and thought, _I might as well…_

As he made his way up the staircase he noticed Cassandra passing through, self-consciously running her fingers through her hair as she hurried to her customer. She saw him on the staircase, smiled at him, and went busily along her way.

He continued to trudge up the stairs and groaned. Things were becoming tiresome. He would have to talk to Pacifica's parents the next day to ask about her past.

Something got crushed under his foot. He looked down and lifted his right foot to see the rubber band he had just stepped on. Dozens more lay about him, all leading towards Pacifica's room.

He looked up, surprised, when he heard a slight twang. That was when a rubber band hit him squarely in the nose.

Pacifica ran out from her room, pointing and laughing her guts out as he held his nose and yelled at her.

Al poked his head through the doorway and had to stifled his laughter when he saw Ed's face grow even redder as Pacifica started insulting his height. He ducked back inside when Ed turned towards him, furious that he hadn't been warned.

"You're all plotting against me!" yelled Ed as he rushed into Pacifica's room.

"_You're_ the one who always cheats at cards," Al whined.

Ed didn't reply. He was staring at Pacifica's room.

The whole room was a mess. The only thing that wasn't covered with, well, stuff, was her bed. Pacifica laughed at the his expression, pointed to a mass of books, pens, and papers and said, "Over there is my desk, if you hadn't noticed."

With that, she jumped over a pile of stuffed animals and landed squarely on her bed.

"So, Ed. Wanna play cards? And _no_ cheating!" From somewhere beside her bed she drew out a deck of cards.

After five games, Ed finally realized that it was a trick deck. Furious with his losses, the short-tempered alchemist threw his cards down and marched back to his room.

"He's just not used to losing so much," laughed Al. "Well, I guess I'll go back to my room now also."

"Okay! See you tomorrow!"

Ed threw his clothes and pocket watch on top of his suitcase just as Al came into the room. With a quick good night, he quickly fell asleep.

The Next Day… 

Ed yawned and opened his eyes sleepily. He reached for his watch to see what time it was. It should be pretty early in the morning. His fingers groped frantically and he got up when he didn't find it. Turning over all his clothes, he couldn't find the one thing missing: his pocket watch.


	3. Extra Ch: Let Me Paint Your Soul

Forbidden Memories Extra Chapter

Disclaimer: I don't own FMA.

A/N: I still have to sort some things out in my head, so you'll have to wait a while for the next chapter. In the meantime, I've created this little extra chapter… It was just an idea that sparked in my head before I went to bed. I was thinking about Al after re-watching one of the episodes.

Extra Chapter: Let Me Paint Your Soul

As usual, the city of Atlanta was at its peak in the morning. Vendors opened all of their displays and the streets began to become crowded with people. Tourists flocked the popular ferryboat entrance to be the first to sightsee the famous Atlanta River. The river snaked its way through the edge of the city that had been named after it. The church bells struck eleven times, ending with the silence of an expected twelfth chime.

Ed and Al fought the crowd to keep up with Pacifica, who somehow dodged all the people that came before her. After all, she had lived here ever since she could remember. Today, she had promised to show them around the city, even if they didn't really want to. Ed sighed. It was almost as bad as Winry's mechanic shopping spree.

Suddenly, Pacifica halted in front of an old lady sitting on the ground with a small hat turned upside down. It was filled with money. In her flimsy hands, she held a stack of thick paper and a pen.

"Oy, Pacifica… I see you've brought some friends," the old lady lifted her head towards her.

Pacifica smiled and said, "Yes I have. Will you please draw them a self-portrait?"

Ed was about to protest. "I never said I wanted—"

Al interrupted his complaint and said, "Come on brother. Why not?"

He turned towards the old lady. "How much will it be?"

"I shall draw for free, since you are friends of Pacifica," the old lady gave a wrinkly smile at him.

"Thank you, ma'am."

"Okay, then. Why don't you guys sit over there so she can draw you?" Pacifica pointed a chair that was set up for them. She turned towards the old lady, "Are you going to draw them separately or together?"

"Separately," the old lady murmured. She was already scratching her pen against her paper. "I will do the braided one first."

After a few minutes, she drew out another piece of paper and started drawing on it, looking up at Al every few minutes.

Finally, she was finished. Pacifica got up to take the pictures from her but the old lady refused to show it to her.

"The braided one must see it first," she said stubbornly.

Ed took the papers, thanked the old lady, and left with Pacifica and Al. He glanced at his self-portrait first. He looked pretty normal except… he looked closer. In the picture he wasn't wearing any gloves, but his right hand was… not made of metal? The old lady must have made a mistake. He flipped to Al's picture and gasped.

Staring back at him with bright blue eyes was Al, just as he had been as a child. It wasn't possible, but there he was, with his pale skin and yellow hair. Ed looked back at the old lady, who had her back turned to him.

He gave Al the pictures and ran back towards the mysterious old woman, yelling, "I'll meet you at the corner!"

The old lady turned and said, "Oh, you're back? Did you forget something?" She gave him a toothy grin.

Without a word, Ed poured some money into the pitiful hat that lay next to her. Then, he stopped and looked into the old lady's eyes.

It was then he realized that she could not see. She was blind.


	4. Chapter 4: Ashes and Soot

Forbidden Memories Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks to Raiyne Nagakura for reviewing every chapter I have so far! Besides, I need the motivation or else I would be slumped in my couch, watching stupid daytime TV. I'm surprised I've actually written so much. My stories usually end after… 'Bout two chapters.

If you don't recall, the story left off when Ed's pocket watch went missing.

Anyways, let the story continue…

Chapter 4: Ashes and Soot

Al woke up to the sounds of scuffling beside his bed. It was probably around three in the morning. He sat up and saw Ed turning over his suitcase and scouring the ground for something.

"What's the matter, Ed? Are you looking for something?" he asked, concerned.

"Damn it, I swear I left it right here!" Ed yelled with frustration. "Where'd that stupid pocket watch go?"

"You lost your pocket watch?" Al got up when he heard this.

From somewhere outside their room, a door swung open. The brothers heard Pete's voice exclaim loudly, "Quick! Get more water!"

Sounds of turmoil reached Ed and Al's ears. Ed opened the door and yelled at Pete, "What happened?"

"The restaurant across the road is on fire! The oil must have somehow—" Pete got cut off with a large _crack._ A section of the building weakened and started sagging under its own weight.

Cassandra rushed in and cried, "If this keeps up the whole street could get caught on fire! The blaze is out of control!"

"What?" Ed bounded out the door and a blast of hot wind caught his face. He squinted down the narrow street. A small group of people were trying to quell the raging fire, but soon gave up.

Al gasped, "Oh no, where's Pacifica?"

Pete dashed up the stairs into Pacifica's room. "Pacifica, wake up!" he yelled.

The bedcovers had been thrown on the ground and Pacifica was nowhere to be seen.

Ed had to think of something good fast. He asked Cassandra, "Where's your water supply?"

Without a word, she pointed to a large pipe that extended out from the house. In one swift movement, Ed clapped his hands and pressed them to the ground. A shower of blue sparks snaked up the side of the building to the pipe and then extended it all the way across to the other side of the road, aiming it at the restaurant. A blast of water exploded out from it.

Soon the fire died out. All that was left was the skeleton of the burnt-down building. The owner of the restaurant stared at the ashes and fell to his knees. His wife sat on the corner of the street, crying into her handkerchief while her neighbors tried to comfort her.

But, of course, Ed wasn't done yet. "Don't worry," he called, "I'll get your house back right now."

And, of course, the woman wasn't convinced.

"H-how?" she asked between sobs.

He walked to the doorstep of the charred house. "I'm gonna transmute this building back to its original state," he declared. But before he did this, a familiar glint caught his eye. He pocketed the item, and then, with one of his renowned little claps, the building magically appeared before their eyes.

After many words of thanks, Ed headed back to the inn with Cassandra, but before they could enter, Al threw open the door.

"Ed! Pacifica's gone missing!" exclaimed Al. Pete walked up behind him. And said grimly, "I can't find her anywhere in the house."

"Maybe she—" Ed stopped abruptly as a figure slowly ascended the front steps.

It was Pacifica. Without a word or a glance, she brushed past her parents. Her hair and clothes were covered with soot, and she had a small burn mark on her arm. Her pajamas were all torn and tattered. She went to her room and closed the door.

"Pacifica!" Cassandra called, "Where have you been?"

No answer.

"Why won't you talk to me?" she cried. Pete set a hand on her shoulder and said, "Relax. Give her some time. I'm sure she'll tell us what happened."

Cassandra agreed. She turned and quickly apologized to Ed.

The four people entered their rooms for sleep.

"Ed, what do you think happened to Pacifica?" Al asked, "She doesn't seem to be the type of person who would keep things from her parents."

"Plus she was covered with soot," added Ed. "She was probably trying to stop the fire or something."

"But why isn't she saying anything?"

With a sigh, Ed said, "I don't know, but you'll never guess what I found in the building." His hand went to his pocket.

"What did you find?" Al asked, his curiosity arising.

Ed pulled it out. There it was again. His pocket watch hung dangling from its shiny silver chain.


	5. Chapter 5: Unanswered Questions

Forbidden Memories Chapter 5

A/N: Thanks to Paju13 for reviewing! Um, anyways, this is the fifth chapter, and I hope you like it. This is probably the longest fanfic I've ever written. Wonder how long it will last… Well, hopefully, I'll finish it. _Hopefully._

Ooo Pacifica's acting funny. Wonder what will happen. Honestly, I don't know myself. I just write as I go along…

Chapter 5:

Morning came quickly after last night's events. Ed and Al started towards the cafeteria for breakfast. Cassandra quickly welcomed and served them.

"Is Pacifica awake yet?" asked Al.

"No. I'm afraid not," sighed Cassandra. Then, with a smile, she added, "Although she always sleeps in really late. I always have to go wake her."

She hurried away to another customer.

Ed chewed his bread roll quietly. Finding his pocket watch at the house led many questions unanswered in his head. Plus Pacifica was acting strange.

"Ed, Mustang told you to be back by tomorrow. We have to tell Pacifica's parents that we were supposed to bring her to Central," pressed Al.

At the sound of the colonel's name, Ed grumbled and spat, "He probably just wants me back so soon so he can bore me with his stupid comments."

Even so, he shoved the rest of the bread roll in his mouth and went over to Pete and Cassandra. "Do you have a moment?"

Ed explained the purpose of him coming to Atlanta.

"So you need to ask Pacifica a few questions? Sure. Go ahead," said Pete, confused at why they were making such a fuss out of this.

"It's not that simple. The military wants me to bring her to Central so they can ask their stupid questions," explained Ed.

Pete was about to answer when Cassandra interrupted him, "Hold on a sec! Pacifica is fifteen, right?"

"Duh."

"Oh, stop being sarcastic, you big lump of fat," joked Cassandra, "Don't you remember? When we adopted her? The sheet said she would have to go to Central every five years to see if she recalled anything before the fire."

"I know, honey. We went there when she was 11."

"Exactly! So since now she's fifteen, oh wait…" Cassandra ran the numbers through her head again. "Hey… we're supposed to go when she's sixteen."

Pete snorted at her slowness with numbers. "I can't believe you add so slowly. You should have enough practice now. Eleven dollars plus five… It's like counting money!"

"Are you saying I'm stupid? You don't need to remember who practically runs this place!" Cassandra voice started rising.

"It's a good thing I'm the one who keeps track of the money, isn't it."

Al sweatdropped and said, "Now, now…"

The couple suddenly remembered where they were and quickly settled down.

"Anyways," said Ed loudly, "We should be heading back to Central tomorrow."

"But why do they want to question her one year earlier?"

"Beats me." Ed's mind wandered to the image of Mustang, smirking at him. _That bastard never tells me anything…_

_Clonk. Clonk. Clonk._ The four people turned their heads towards the direction of the sound. Pacifica was coming down the stairs, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Hey look, Pacifica's awake!" said Al.

Pacifica's head lifted in response to hearing her name. "Wha…?" she mumbled.

Pete got up to spread the news. "Pacifica. Ed is going to take you to Central for questioning. The military wants to do it a year earlier."

Pacifica stared at him blankly.

Pete repeated. "Ed is—"

"Oh…" The thought finally registered in her head. "Okay, I go. Central. Stupid military question stuff."

Ed, Al, Pete and Cassandra sweatdropped as Pacifica tottered towards the cafeteria.

After she left, Al broke the silence. "Cassandra, you didn't ask her about last night."

She smiled and answered, "I thought it would be better if I gave her some more time. She looked really spooked out last night."

"I'll go tell her to pack her bags." Pete strolled towards into the cafeteria.

That afternoon 

Pete and Cassandra decided to see their daughter away at the train station. Pacifica hugged them and said, "I'll bring you some souvenirs."

Cassandra laughed and said, "We have plenty." Then, with a slight frown, she asked, "You still haven't told me. Why were you so upset last night?"

Pacifica paused. Her bright blue eyes looked troubled.

"Pacifica?"

"Oh, uh… it was nothing really. " she stammered. "The trains about to leave."

With that, she pranced towards the place where Ed stood waiting, and went inside the train. The train's whistle sounded one last time and left.

Pete and Cassandra's eyes followed the tail of the train. It was too bad Cassandra never got her answer.


	6. Chapter 6:Past, Present, Future?

Forbidden Memories Chapter 6

A/N: This chapter is mostly two giant flashbacks. Anyways, I hope you like it!

Oh yea, and this chapter mostly focuses on Pacifica and her past…

Chapter 6: The Past, the Present, and the Future?

During the first half-hour on the train Pacifica wasted all her energy annoying Ed, annoying Al, and annoying everybody sitting around her. She rarely rode on trains, and because of her active nature, found it hard to sit still.

But now, all she did was stare out the window watching herds of cows shoot past. Ed was already dozing off, and she couldn't tell whether Al was asleep too.

Sleep. Her eyelids drooped heavily and the noise of the train slowly faded away in her mind.

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DH27 (darkhand27): So… Now that everyone's sleeping…

Pacifica, Ed, and Al: -snore...-

DH27: Here's a flashback of the night Pacifica's mother died, and another one the night the restaurant caught on fire, all in Pacifica's point of view. And—

Mustang: You suck!

DH27: That's nice to know…

Mustang: _Everyone_ knows that the main character should be me. I haven't even made an appearance yet!

Me: Nyah, nyah. sticks out tongue at him … -snaps fingers-

Zombie-Pacifica comes and starts shooting Mustang with giant rubber bands.

Me: glances at Mustang As you can see, I'M BORED. Very. But anyways, Mustang will be making an appearance soon… and the flashback stuff is in _italics_.

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_9 years ago… (when Pacifica was 6)  
She was scared and confused, and just as any other six year-old would, she wanted her mother. But tonight, her mother had secluded herself to the attic, telling her in gentle words not to bother her. Pacifica lay on her bed, huddled against her teddy bear, her eyes watching the motionless objects in her room. _

_She wished that Alexis were here. Pacifica sighed and closed her eyes, picturing clearly in her mind her twin sister. The sister that had always been there for her, and the sister that she had stood up for._

_But Alexis was no more. She was dead from a fatal car accident that had happened exactly a month from today. Dead? What did that mean? To Pacifica it was the monster that had took away her sister._

_And now her mother was acting weird. She never looked at her straight in the eye anymore. Why? Was it because she looked just like Alexis? The whole day today her mother had locked herself in the attic. Her mother, the one who always laughed and smiled at everything. The mother who had always presented with tiny gifts made from alchemy._

_Yes, alchemy. Pacifica's mother had her own little magic. She had promised that one day, she would teach both sisters alchemy. That day was supposed to be last month._

_Pacifica shut her eyes again and felt her mind slowly dimming. Her thoughts whirled about in her head._

_Then, an earsplitting scream of fear sounded from above her. Pacifica jerked awake, eyes wide and lips trembling at her mother's shriek._

_What happened? She had to go help her now._

_The small girl rushed up the creaky wooden attic stairs, and lifted the door._

_The room was surrounded by a ferocious red light. Through it, Pacifica saw a giant transmutation circle surrounded by many candles. But she paid no attention to all of this. She only saw her mother. Something, a monster, was pulling her away. Her mother's eyes, already filled with horror, darted towards Pacifica._

_Pacifica ran towards her, unaware of the candles that had toppled over and set fire to piles and piles of books and parchment. She ran, and ran, and ran. She didn't want her mother to— Splash. She stepped in something gooey. When she looked up, her mother was already almost completely gone. With a final scream, her mother said her final word, "Alexiiiiis!"_

"_Mom!" Pacifica yelled desperately. She paused when she felt something cold touch her elbow. Something curled around her legs. She looked down horrified. That thing was, was…_

_The thing reared up at her as if it had found what it was looking for. And then, it charged at her and collided with her._

_Pacifica blacked out._

DH27: Here's the next flashback, during the fire at the restaurant.

_Where was she? Pacifica looked around. She was in her pajamas, and had suddenly found herself standing up. Something cold was pressed against her hand. She looked down at it and gasped, surprised at what she was holding._

_Clang. She dropped it. The pocket watch clattered and lay glistening on the ground. Then she realized where she was. She was at the Antonio's restaurant, across the street._

_Why was she here? How was it that she had Ed's pocket watch?_

_Suddenly, her hand jerked up by itself. Her feet moved towards the kitchens of the restaurant. Pacifica started to panic. Something started creeping into her mind. She barely had control of her body now._

_Her hand reached into a drawer and drew out a matchbox. She felt herself nearing to oil tank. She took out a match._

_Nooooo! Pacifica screamed in her mind. Every thought told her to drop the matches, but her body wouldn't listen to her. Then, a voice came unbidden in her mind, "Shut up, you miserable wench."_

_Her vision clouded and Pacifica completely lost control. Everything went black._

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Pacifica yawned and looked around. Ed was still asleep, and she still wasn't too sure about Al. She checked her watch. The train should arrive in about fifteen minutes. She sighed. Fifteen more boring minutes…


	7. Chapter 7: Central

Forbidden Memories Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author's Note: WAAH! I haven't updated in a long time! Well anyways, I revised the first chapter again, wrote this, and so… enjoy.

Ok, on with this story…

Chapter 7: Central

"FINALLY!" Pacifica jumped up from her seat and stretched. "I never want to go on a stupid train again."

At this, Ed smirked and said, "So that means you won't be coming with us back to Atlanta, right?"

"Hey… That's not what I meant," she whined. Just as she said this, the train gave one final groan and completely stopped. All the passengers began to shuffle around in their seats to gather their belongings. Pacifica threw her belongings into Ed's arms and shot out of the train as fast as she could. Immediately, she started speculating at passerby.

Ed groaned under the weight of her suitcase. Al offered a hand and said, "I'll carry her things, brother."

When Ed and Al finally exited the train, they found Pacifica staring excitedly at her map and already pinpointing the places she wanted to go, as if she was born a tourist. Suddenly Armstrong's voice boomed towards them from the other side of the train station. Pacifica saw him and looked at him with an amused look on her face. "Friend of yours, Ed?"

"And you," Armstrong said, surveying Pacifica with a serious look on his face, "must be Miss Pacifica!"

"How did you know?" Ed inquired.

"Mustang tipped me off," replied Armstrong. Then, shifting himself into a comical stance with tears streaming down his face, he cried, "He also told me of this young girl's tragic, tragic past. How awful. But do not fear…"

And at this, he threw off his uniform and flexed his muscles. Purple sparkles glittered and floating around his head. "Because I, am Alexander Armstrong, the Strong Arm Alchemist, and will proudly escort you to Central using my excellent skills, those that have been passed along the Armstrong line for generations!"

"Uh, Major. You shouldn't do that in public you know," said Ed with a sweatdrop. People were staring already.

Pacifica also sweatdropped and thought, _somebody has some serious problems…_

There was a car waiting for them right outside the exit of the train station. During the ride, Pacifica decided to stick her head out the window to marvel at the passerby, making comments such as, "Hey what's that weird thing that girl is wearing? Wha… look at the size of that dude's beard!"

When they finally reached Central Headquarters, Pacifica greeted it with a, "Whoa! It's HUGE!"

"Well, what did you expect?" asked Ed through mouthfuls of the doughnut he had gotten at the train station. Pacifica turned and said truthfully, "My parents always told me to expect a dog cage, but still, it looks bigger than when I can here when I was eleven."

The driver stopped and dropped them off in front of the building. Armstrong got out and was about to open Pacifica's door for her, when she threw the door open and shot out of the car. More purple sparkles appeared when Armstrong sang, "Oh the energy of the young…"

Al stayed outside to wait for them. The three headed up to Mustang's office. When Armstrong saw him he did a quick salute and said, "I must be getting back to my other duties now, Colonel." Then he went out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

Mustang waited until Ed and Pacifica had settled themselves onto the sofas. Then, in his usual tone, he said, "You sure took some time on that assignment, didn't you Ed."

"Whatever. You still need to tell me. Why do you need someone to take Pacifica to Central just for some questions? And why are you interrogating her a year early?" Ed asked, annoyance ringing in his voice. Pacifica just looked at Mustang suspiciously, and then contented herself by fiddling with her zipper.

"It's pretty simple really. This was all on the Fuhrer's orders, of course," said Mustang, shifting some papers on his desk. "You probably already know about her amnesia, and we're questioning her to see if she remembers anything from before the accident. Her mother is suspected to have been involved in an attempted human transmutation."

The last sentenced rang in Ed's ears. He glanced at Pacifica to see if she had any reaction to this, but she just continued twisting her zipper around and zipping it up and down. Then he turned back to the Colonel and asked, "One more question. Does Pacifica know any alchemy?"

"Why don't you just ask her?" said Mustang, "Anyways, for some reason the Fuhrer wants to bring her up to his office right away, I got the call from him a minute ago. You can take her there, and from then on, you're free to do whatever you want."

"Why does the Fu—" Ed started. Mustang simply waved his question away and said, "If you really want to know, you should ask him in person."

Ed took Pacifica up to the Fuhrer's office, and met the secretary Juliet Douglas. He told her to meet them at the steps outside. Pacifica answered with a bored, "Mmph."

Juliet sat at her desk with a pleasant smile pasted onto her face. Nervously, Pacifica sat down. As she stared at the secretary facing in front of her, she felt something twitch in the depths of her mind, as if something wanted to wake up. Pacifica shook off the feeling.

"Hello dear. All I'm going to do is ask some questions, like last time, and then you can go alright?" the secretary said, taking up a clipboard and a pen. Pacifica stared around the bleak room and said, "Could you open the blends? It's a little dark in here."

"I would prefer them closed. It's a hot summer day, and if you open them, this room can become terribly hot," said Juliet dismissively. Pacifica shifted a little in her chair, as if she was uncomfortable in the dark.

"Well then, let's begin the questions so we can get this over with."

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A/N: Please review! Oh, and Vlkodlas, Elric24 and LinkedDestinies, I know you're somewhere out there reading this, so please review!


	8. Chapter 8: Photographs

Forbidden Memories Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Do I really have to repeat myself? I OWN NOTHING.

A/N: I can't believe I've written more than five chapters. It's unreal. O-O.

ON WITH THE STORY!

Chapter 8:

"Let's get directly to the point," Juliet said, "Do you remember anything from before the night of the fire?"

"Nope, nothing at all," replied Pacifica bluntly.

"You had a sister named Alexis. Can you recall what she looks like?"

Pacifica sighed, having answered the exact same questions four years ago. She was already starting to fidget around too. She leaned back into the comfy cushioned chair and said in a steady voice, "Well, I can't remember her facial features at all, but sometimes I have dreams of her, and some other people. All of their faces are blank."

"You realize that what you said just now is exactly, word for word, what you said four years ago, don't you," said Juliet, making a mark on her clipboard.

Pacifica looked down at her now restless hands and mumbled, "…Mm."

"Anyways, I'm going to show you some pictures that may seem familiar to you. Tell me if you remember anything."

She frowned. They didn't do this last time. Soon she found herself face to face with a photograph of a small and plump girl with short brown hair much like hers. The little girl wore a small necklace with an 'A' dangling from it.

"That looks like me," she said, leaning forward to stare at the photo. Juliet set it on the edge of her desk and drew out another one. It was a picture of a woman with long, curly brown hair that was tied into a ponytail. She smiled back from the photo with sparkling blue eyes.

"The first one is a photograph of your twin sister Alexis, and the second one is a photo of your mother, and here," Juliet took out another one, "is a picture of the house that you lived in."

Juliet took something else out of the large paper envelope that had contained all the pictures. This time, it wasn't a photograph, but a necklace similar to the one that was worn by Alexis in the photo. The only difference was that at the end of it dangled a golden 'S' instead of an 'A'.

"What is that? It looks just like the one that girl in that photo was wearing," said Pacifica. She took the necklace. It felt cool in her hand, and… familiar. Juliet emptied the envelope, pouring out about five more photos and spreading them on her desk.

"That necklace was one of the few objects that we were able to find after the fire. The 'S' on it stands for Samantha," informed Juliet.

"Samantha?" Pacifica repeated the name, confused.

"Yes, Samantha. That was your original name. After the Radley's adopted you, they gave you a new name, which you carry now."

Juliet gave her a few moments to inspect the photographs before her. Pacifica's eyes darted from the photo of her sister, her mother, her house, her friends, and even the market near their house.

"Why are you showing me all these pictures?"

"Because we want you to remember, so you can tell us what really happened."

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"Oh!" Cassandra stood at the doorway of Pacifica's room. She stared flabbergasted at the sight of it. "That girl, leaving me this mess to clean up after."

And thus Cassandra began sorting out the room, muttering curses to herself as she did so.

She had just finished setting Pacifica's assortment of stuffed animals onto her drawer and had begun to clean out the stuff under her bed. Then, a thought came to her and she removed Pacifica's pillow.

Under it was the diary that they had bought for her on her tenth birthday. As she flipped through the pages Cassandra smiled. Only about seven pages were actually written on, the others were just random doodles. She started reading from page one, which was the day in which Pacifica had received this diary.

_Dear Diary,_

_It's my birthday today! Mom and Dad gave me this journal, and I'm going to write in it every day. Today was really fun. All of my friends and me went to the park. Dad and Mom even closed the inn so they can have fun with me instead of being so busy! This is what we did at the park…_

Cassandra turned the page. The next entry was a year after, when she had told Pacifica to bring this journal with her when they went to Central for the questioning.

_Dear Diary,_

_Those people in blue are freaky. Mom said they were stinking military dogs but I think she was just exaggerating. This dude came and asked me all these questions about if I remembered anything from before I was adopted, but since I don't remember anything, he got mad and told me to go away. Then we spent the whole day in Central sightseeing…_

Cassandra turned the page again. She was about to close the book when her eyes caught the date of the page. It was the night the restaurant caught on fire.

_Dear Diary,_

_Oh wow, I haven't written in this, for like, four years. Hmm… what should I say. Well, I'll start by saying that I can't sleep, which is why I'm doing this. And I keep having funny dreams. It may be that my memories are coming back, but for some reason, I don't want them to. Oh whatever, it's just a couple of memories. Who cares about all that stuff. I'm perfectly content with my memories as it is._

_Something weird happened today, or, tonight, I should say. _(Cassandra drew a sharp breath.) _All of a sudden, I found myself at the restaurant across the street. Then, I blacked out and the next thing I know, I'm outside, with burnt pajamas on. Weird, huh? I'm really confused now. I don't want Mom and Dad to find out about this, cause then they'll be really worried and do stupid things._

_Whatever, I'll try to sleep now._

Cassandra closed the book, and was now even more confused than she was when Pacifica left for Central. Whatever had happened, it was something that she needed to know. She hurried downstairs to phone Pacifica.


	9. Extra Ch2: The Necklaces

Forbidden Memories Extra Chapter No. 2

Disclaimer: I don't own FMA.

A/N: This extra chapter actually takes place in the past, during Pacifica's fifth birthday. Since this is before she was adopted, she'll be referred to as 'Sammy' instead 'Pacifica'. Okay?

Oh yea, and it may take me a while to write the next chapter.

Chapter 9: The Necklaces

A scene from before Pacifica's lost her memories

"Mommy, wake up!" Two identical girls with short brown hair and azure eyes bounded into their mother's room. While one opened all the curtains, the other ripped off their mother's bedcovers and jumped onto the bed.

"Honey, what is it?" murmured Kim sleepily. She looked through half-open eyes at her beautiful twin daughters. They took her wrists and hauled her up into a sitting position.

"It's our birthday, 'member?" they chorused. Sammy, the younger one, jumped up and down and yelled, "I wanna see my present, and Alexis's too!"

"Girls, it's five o'clock in the morning," Kim groaned. With a bit of effort, she got out of bed and kneeled down to inspect them. "And you have already brushed your hair?"

"Yep."

"Washed your face?"

"Uh-huh."

"Breakfast?"

"Uh… well, Sammy ate half of the can of chocolate, and I ate a bar of ice cream," said Alexis. Her mouth was covered with the sticky residue of ice cream. "That's breakfast, right?"

Kim was suddenly wide-awake. "What have you been doing?"

The two girls wriggled out of their mother's grasp and hurried out of the room, yelling, "Uh-Oh!" A door slammed shut when they entered their rooms to hide. Kim hurried to the kitchen and sighed in relief. Almost everything was still in place except for a box of melted chocolates and an opened refrigerator door. Not to worry. Kim put the melted chocolate back in the fridge.

Two heads poked through the doorway. Their eyes darted around suspiciously at their mother. Kim saw them and said with a laugh, "Sammy, Alexis. I know you're there!"

The twins emerged from the doorway and stood there sheepishly. "Are you mad with us, Mommy?"

"No, of course not. Today's your birthday," said Kim brightly. "Now hurry up and eat your breakfast."

Sammy protested, "But we already-"

"Well today's special, so we're having a _second_ breakfast," invented Kim.

After breakfast, or rather, second breakfast, it was already seven. The girls just sat around and waited excitedly for eleven o'clock to come. When it finally came, the doorbell ran, and the too girls shot towards the door and threw it open.

"Happy birthday!" a girl with dark brown hair dressed in a cute pink dress smiled and presented them two identical presents. Sammy gasped in delight and grabbed it, ready to tear up the wrapping paper when Kim came and snatched it away. "Presents come later," she said sternly. Then she started to converse with the girl's mother.

"Okay, mom," Alexis said. Then she turned to the girl, "Hey Bella, did you see Melanie come?"

"Yea, she's right behind us," said Bella. She gestured towards the street. Soon a tiny figure came followed by a larger figure. The figure raced up the street and handed them two more presents. "Hey Sammy 'n Alexis."

"Melanie, slow down," her father groaned, "You didn't even look both ways when you crossed the street."

"Sorry dad," the girl named Melanie laughed. She had long blond hair tied into two ponytails. "Where's Amber?"

"I dunno…" Sammy mused, "Maybe she's late… again."

Sammy had barely finished her sentenced when Amber came up from behind her and yelled, "Boo!"

"Hi Amber," Kim greeted her, "Where's your mom?"

"She's trying to catch up with me," giggled Amber. Sure enough, her mother's voice came, scolding her.

"Well, looks like everybody is here," Kim said brightly. "I have lots of fun and games planned for today."

Her words were greeted with cheers.

The rest of the morning was passed with the breaking open of a piñata, which Amber broke by throwing off her blindfold and charging into it, a few board games, and a 'game' where the kids tried to spray each other with water hoses in the backyard. Everyone had been successfully drenched. Finally, it was time for the birthday cake, which would be followed shortly by the presents. Still wet, the birthday girls plunged head first into chocolate cake.

"Open mine first!" Amber chattered excitedly.

"No mine," whined Bella.

"Just take this and open it," said Melanie, shoving her presents into the twin's hands.

"Now, now, who wants to argue about which one to open? Just open them all at once," Kim offered a suggestion.

"Okay!" yelled Sammy, "READY, STEADY, GOOOO!"

They charged at the presents. Wrapping paper flew everywhere.

Minutes later, they had successfully unraveled two stuffed animals, two drawing sets, and two bottles of 'gloop', (Much like silly putty…) Since they were twins, everything was in sets of two.

"What about your present, mommy?" Alexis inquired. Kim smiled and said, "You will get to choose. Both of you will go into your rooms and decide what you want."

"Okay!" the two twins rushed into their room.

"How are you going to do that," Bella's mom inquired. Kim smiled and simply uncovered the newspapers that were strewn across the ground, revealing a transmutation circle. "That's how."

Alexis and Sammy came out of their room, followed by their friends. Kim smiled at them and asked, "Well, what do you want?" Alexis came and whispered something into her mother's ear. Bella, Melanie, and Amber looked confused. They wondered what it would be.

Kim nodded silently and bent down to her circle. She emptied some items onto the middle of it and pressed her hands against it. The circle glowed yellow for a few moments while something shaped itself. When the light finally vanished, all that remained were two necklaces.

One had an 'S' dangling from it, and the other had an 'A'.

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A/N: Okay, that's that. The next chapter will take me longer to do, don't ask why. And remember, I write, you review. So, uh… review.


	10. Chapter 10: Fear and Fire

Forbidden Memories Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own the Fullmetal Chibi. Okay?

A/N: Well here's the tenth chapter.

Cassandra's fingers fumbled frantically with the phone. Soon she heard a ringing sound on the line and a woman's voice came through, "Central Headquarters."

"Hello. I'm trying to reach my daughter, Pacifica Radley. She's in Central for an interrogation," said Cassandra, tapping her fingers on the table impatiently. The voice on the other side of the phone said, "Please wait a moment…"

Using one hand Cassandra drew herself up a chair and plopped down into it. She held the phone to her ear, muttering indistinctively. Patience was definitely not her virtue.

Finally when the woman's voice came again, Cassandra almost jumped out of her seat. "H-hello?"

"I'm sorry to say that you will be unable to reach Pacifica Radley as of now. She is, at the moment, undergoing an interrogation and will not be able to speak with you until later."

"When?" But the line was already dead. Cassandra had the impulse to chuck the phone out the window but refrained from doing so. Pete walked in right when she threw down the receiver. He looked at her with a surprised look on his face.

"What's wrong?" He bent over and righted the crook phone. Cassandra let out a deep breath and again plopped down into the chair. "I'm worried about Pacifica."

"We always are. We're her parents, remember?" Pete replied casually.

"It's not just that. I'm nervous about the whole interrogation thing the stupid military has going on, and…" Cassandra sighed, "I know we agreed to respect her privacy and all but when I was cleaning her room I found her diary…"

"You read her diary? Does she even have one? I never thought she would be able to keep one." Pete said.

"She doesn't," said Cassandra simply, "But she wrote in it three times. One of those times was the night of the fire. She's not the type to write down all her troubles, but there it was, so I read it."

And so Cassandra told about Pete everything Pacifica wrote that day. The words spilled from her mouth.

"Honey, you're overreacting." Was all Pete said. At that, Cassandra was furious. "I am _not_ overreacting!"

Pete let out a heavy sigh. "Fine then. If it makes you feel any better, she's coming home tomorrow. Then you can ask her all the questions you want. You should be worried, but don't go to any extremes, okay? You should relax a bit. Relieve some of that stress. Why don't you take the day off? I'm sure Marianne can take care of everything."

"Y-you're probably right," Cassandra said in a resigned tone. "I shouldn't worry too much. Pacifica's not a baby anymore."

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"Uh… sir?"

Edward looked up from the last few drops of his orange juice. Straw still in his mouth, he murmured, "Yea?"

The officer saluted and said, "There's a visitor requesting to see you, sir."

"Okay. I'll be right there."

Slowly Ed got up from the lunch table and headed towards the exit, dropping his trash into the garbage bin on his way out. He had barely reached the top of the steps in the front of the building when Pacifica pushed him from behind, causing him to loose his footing. He landed with a crash.

"Hi Ed!" Pacifica waved merrily as if she didn't notice what happened. "The interrogation-thing is finally finished!"

"What'd you do that for?" Ed yelled, waving a fist and pointing to a large bump on his head.

Pacifica laughed and said, "You're so small you're being pushed around by a girl."

Ignoring Ed's cries of anger, she continued, "You promised to take me sightseeing, remember?"

"Oh, I don't remember saying that," Ed challenged.

"Well too bad shorty. You're gonna do what I tell you to." Pacifica glared at him evilly.

"You're just as bad as Winry," groaned Ed in resignation. "Alright, alright. Sightseeing it is. I have nothing better to do."

"Whose Winry? You're _girlfriend_?" teased Pacifica. Somebody laughed behind them, "As a matter of fact…"

"Al! Whose side are you on anyway?" yelled a hotheaded Ed.

"Hey Pacifica," Al said cheerfully. "Um… You forgot all about your stuff when you jumped out of the car so I have it right here."

"Oh yea…" Pacifica said, staring at her suitcase as if it just appeared out of nowhere. "Well first I have to check into that hotel the bitch told me to go to."

She took her first look at the papers that Juliet had given her. "Where's twenty-seven Port Road?"

"Over there," said Ed simply and pointed to a hotel right across the street. "Okay then, we'll take you sightseeing, and then tomorrow first thing in the morning, you go back home so I can finally—"

"Uh… well, actually…" stammered Pacifica. Ed looked at her questionably. "The secretary told me I have to stay in Central."

"Until when?"

"I dunno, for a while, she said…"

"WHAT?" yelled Ed.

"Yea, I know. After _two freakin' hours_, she says to me," Pacifica startled hotly and then starting mimicking her, "You'll have to stay in Central until we get some answers from you. I'll notify your parents and blah blah-blah blah blah."

"Eh… let's just go check in to that hotel," interrupted Al. Ed sighed, feeling somewhat relieved that he had stopped Pacifica from ranting on and on.

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After they checked into the hotel, they spent the rest of the evening sightseeing. It wasn't until late into the night when they finally covered all of the thirty sites Pacifica wanted to visit. After saying goodbye to Pacifica at the hotel, Ed thought he could finally rest. He and Al went to their room at the headquarters and quickly fell asleep…

…only to be rudely awakened only an hour later. Along with the entire headquarters, they scurried to find the source of the erupting chaos. Screams echoed in the streets of Central. The flames of the fire reflected in the people's wide, terrified eyes. _Fire_, Ed thought, _again._

Surrounded by the flickering blaze, a figure stood calmly, surveying the turmoil. (I'll just call the person 'it' for now) It had a wide smile on its face that widened with every scream and eyes that seemed to relish the people's fear.

_Fire,_ it thought, _See how it spreads, and puts fear into everyone's hearts. Fire, and fear._

A/N: Sorry it took so long for me to update. Once school starts, it'll take me a long time but I WILL continue and FINISH this story. I think. sweatdrop

Oh and Sue Hunter? Thanks for giving me all that advice. Yea… I need a lot of that.

REVIEW!


	11. Chapter 11: Inhuman Eyes

Forbidden Memories Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Someday I swear I'll own it, but not today. Nope.

A/N: GOD! SCHOOL! I'm really sorry but from now until whenever the freakin' thing ends I won't be able to update as often. But I PROMISE the story will continue. OKAY?

Chapter 11

The fire was spreading at an alarming rate. Already fire fighters had been put to work on distinguishing the blaze, and soldiers still rubbing sleep from their eyes were helping women and children evacuate the dangerous parts. A piercing siren wailed, warning everyone of the disaster.

All able-bodied peoples were helping, some simply using wet blankets to beat the oncoming flames. Aware of the increasing chaos, Ed leapt into action when he saw the cowering figure of a small abandoned boy wandering in a burning alleyway. He ran in and seized the boy.

Creak. Ed's eyes darted to the right as the building began to groan. The wooden beams were not going to last for long, but he should be able to make it. He was just about to make a run for it when the boy cried out, reaching over Ed's shoulder and pointing.

"Maa!" he wailed piteously. Ed hesitated, and turned around. There was no sign of the little boy's mother anywhere, but he couldn't be sure. A bead of sweat slipped down as he stood there indecisive of what to do. Then, two things happened simultaneously. The beams on either side started groaning again, and just when Ed decided to make a go for it, his eyes spied something move among the flames.

He had just reached another point of indecision when Al's voice hurried him along. "Go, Ed! I'll see who's there!"

Al watched as Ed hurried the boy to safe shelter. He mentally took a breath and stepped into the flames. They flickered about him, like the heads of many sly snakes, wanting to grab him, but unable to. He caught the shadow of a person among the flames and called out, "HELLO?"

The figure stood there but did not answer.

Al made his way through the wreckage of burning wood. He called out again, but still the figure did not answer. It shifted slightly, as if acknowledging his presence. _Strange_, he thought when he saw she was holding a bucket of some kind.

Finally, Al plunged through the barrier of debris and placed his hand on the person's shoulder, telling her to hurry out.

The woman did not move. Al looked up at her.

He saw Pacifica's familiar brown hair, her favorite navy blue jacket, and the pants she had worn this morning. When he was just about to call out her name in surprise, the woman turned, as if she was waiting for him to observe her appearance.

Al froze. He was staring into inhuman eyes.

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Worry clouded Ed's mind. When he finally brought the little boy to shelter, his mom was there to receive him. And, when the boy and mom waved to him to thank him, the boy's eyes flashed red for a second and then slowly dulled to a normal blue color.

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A/N: Yea, so there's the latest chapter. I know it's really short but I haven't had much time to write because of schoolwork. –groan-

I promise I'll update the next chapter faster than I did for this one. And I'll have to make it longer too.


	12. Chapter 12: Homunculi

Forbidden Memories Chapter 12

A/N: HELLO! I'M BA-ACK! And here's the longer Chapter 12 that I promised you.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist.

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"Pacifica? I-is that you?" asked Al in an uncertain voice.

The figure smirked and said, "What do you think?"

"Who are you?" he asked. _Why do you look like Pacifica?_ He felt hollow. At least, more hollow than usual. (Me: Heehee…pokes Al)

Silently, the figure drew towards Al. In her hands she had a bucket, which sloshed water inside. Her face was aglow with the dangerous flickers of fire. Al saw her features more clearly now. She looked exactly like Pacifica. What was most entrancing about her were her eyes—they glowed. Her right eye was a dark shade of greed and her left was a deep red. They were set into a pale, chalky face, making them even more noticeable.

"I am the one they call Fear," she said, and let her other hand slip into the bucket. Instantly, there was a small _hiss_ and the water evaporated into a thin cloud of steam.

Al's eyes (Okay, he doesn't really have any, but you know what I mean) darted to the familiar sign tattooed onto the side of her neck: the sign of the serpent that eats its own tail. "You're one of the homunculi."

"Correct." She drew closer. "You're… not afraid, are you?"

"I…" Al took a step back.

"If you're not afraid, you should be!" A monstrous smile broke out on her lips and she lunged with surprising speed and accuracy. The attack took Al by surprise, but he managed to jump backwards. Her knuckles grazed the front of his armor. She lunged again, and this time, she pulled off his head, and threw it on the ground. Calmly, she covered it with the bucket.

"Nighty night!" she sang, and leapt out of the way just as the building came crashing down.

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To everyone's relief, the sky soon darkened and rain came pelting down. Ed watched as the last of the fires were put out. Where was Al?

Worry clawed at him until finally he decided to look for him. He ran towards the alley where he had found the boy, and gave a small gasp when he found that the building had collapsed.

Ed poked around the debris, hoping to find the familiar bulk of steel. He paused when something shifted.

"AAAAAAH!" Ed jumped when a headless Al burst from a nearby pile and ran around blindly.

"I can't see!"

"NO DUH YOU CAN'T SEE! YOU'RE HEAD'S GONE MISSING!"

"Where's it go?"

"GET OFF ME!"

"I want my head back!"

"AAGH! THAT WAS _MY_ HEAD!"

A few people stared dumbly at the Elric brothers until Ed got up and yelled, "What're you looking at?" He tried to divert their attention, which was nearly impossible since Al was still running around frantically, screaming for his head.

Finally Ed found the head trapped within the bucket and placed it up Al with a sigh.

"Never do that to me again, Al."

"Do what?"

"Run around like an idiot without a head, literally."

"What else could I do?"

"Act lifeless and not attract attention?"

"What would _you_ do?"

There was a moment of silence until Ed muttered, "Shut up…"

When Ed finally shooed the last of the unfortunate bystanders away, he turned to Al and asked, "Well, What happened?"

"Huh?"

"It's not everyday your armor gets something like _that_." Ed pointed to a blackened streak that ran across the armor. The deep gouge had rounded edges instead of a sharp side, which made it look like it had been melted and reshaped.

Al looked in surprise and thought, _Didn't she just graze me?_

"Is something wrong?" asked Ed when Al didn't answer.

"Uh... no! I was just thinking, that's all…" stammered Al. The two sat down among the rubble as Al recounted everything that had happened.

"I think she can use her hands to burn things," said Al, "Just look at my armor."

"And the fact that all the water in the basket evaporated upon contact with her hands," mused Ed. "What did she look like?"

Al hesitated for a second and said, "Exactly like Pacifica, but different. Her eyes were… they shined. One of them was green and the other was red."

Ed's mind quickly replayed the episode when he left the boy with his mother. Did the boy's eyes flash red for that single second, or was his mind playing tricks on him?

"Brother, do you think… Pacifica is the homunculus?" Al asked tentatively. Ed looked up from his thoughts. _Pacifica?_

"What makes you think that?" he asked.

"You know how easy a homunculus to pass off as a human, _and_ the fact that she looks exactly like Pacifica. Exactly, like an identical twin." Al said, but then added softly, "Do you think she would do something like that?"

Ed thought for a second and said slowly, "It could be possible, but she doesn't seem like the kind of person who would be… one of them. And we know for sure the homunculi don't go running around setting fire to Central. All they want is to become human, remember?"

"Yea, and her eyes were different colors, too." Al added, still sounding a tad bit doubtful.

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"What are you doing?" Sloth's voice sounded accusing and a bit agitated than normal. "Why did you go blow up half of Central for? You were supposed to get the Elric Br—"

What I do is none of your business, Sloth." Fear interrupted. Sloth cursed when she heard the other end click, signaling the end of a not-too-pleasant phone conversation.

"Well, you sure have got her worked up." A sly voice came from the other end of the room. Envy grinned his evil little grin. (Me: DIE ENVY!) "Just make sure you don't go scaring the Fullmetal pipsqueak to death. I've got something better planned for him."

Fear smiled and said, "There wouldn't be any fun in that. I'll keep him alive, don't worry."

She had barely finished the sentence when the phone ran again. She looked at it with an amused look on her face. "Looks like she wants the last say."

Fear took up the phone and said with a hint of sarcasm, "Hello?"

"Good afternoon. I'm here to tell you that you've won a free checkup on your plumbing system from the Bouncy Grapes Plumbing Co.!" The voice yelled it so loud that even Envy could hear it from his position across the room. He ducked his head and started laughing his ass off.

"Or maybe not, "said Fear, still holding the receiver. She waited a moment and then said in a fake German accent, "VAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU IDIOT! GO CLEAN ZE BATHROOMS! NOWWW!"

She slammed down the phone and then started cracking up.

"So, you aren't going to help us?"

Fear stopped laughing and put her attention on the newcomer. Lust stood at the doorway, her hand still on the doorknob. She admitted Gluttony into the room.

"Oh, back already?"

"There wasn't much to do in the first place, now answer my question."

"Let's see. Am I going to help you on your quest to obtain the philosopher's stone so that you can become human?" said Fear, as if thinking it over. "How about… no."

"Give me a good reason. You're a homunculus just like us," Lust paused. "You must share the common desire to become human."

"That's where you're wrong." Fear's multi-colored eyes glittered mischievously. "I'm more human than any of you pathetic wimps will ever be."

"What do you mean?" yelled Lust angrily. "You're just like us, a body with a mind but no soul!"

"_You_ are a body with one mind but now soul," said Fear, firmly. "_I_ am a body with two minds and one soul. It's just a matter of time before I get rid of the other mind."

"That soul doesn't belong to you, it's that girl's."

"Wrong again. It is whoever's mind that controls the body, which will soon be me," said Fear. "What difference does it make anyways?"

With that, she crossed over to the door and left. Envy glanced at Lust and said, "Don't even bother arguing with her. She's not one of us."

"Then what is she?"

"An extra. There's only supposed to be at most 7 homunculi existing at one time. Greed, Lust, Pride, Wrath, Glutton, Sloth, and… Envy. She doesn't belong. We should be rid of her soon, the annoying nuisance."

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Me: Yay! It's the end of this chapter!

Ed: I hate being clueless, don't you, Al?

Al: (sighs) yea…

Random Person: It's a bird, it's a plane, wait, no.. it's Mustang?

Mustang: AAAAAH! (falls into very very very hard cement)

Me: (stare) oh my…

Fear: EVERYTHING SHALL BUUUURN!

Me: Riiiight. Anyways, the end is near! For this… story… thing.

Mustang: I LIIIIIIIVE!

Me: (pats him on head) Good job, now go 'way you perv.

Fear: GIVE ME FLAMES! I EAT!

Me: Whatever.

Envy: BOO!

Me: …BOO!

Envy: (high-pitched scream) (falls over) Okay, I'm done. (walks away)

Fear: FEEAR ME!

Roosevelt: There is nothing to fear but fear itself.

Fear: DAMN RIGHT YOU ARE! (melts him)

Mustang: Hey! Only I'm allowed to do that.

Me: Not any more… hehe…

(trumpets blare)

Ed: (comes in with chicken suit on) BACOCK!

Me: (turns on chicken dance music) Right. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and REVIEW!

XXXXXX

(Ed blows up)

Me: NOW WHO MADE ED INTO A LIVING BOMB?

Kimbley: Er… I plead not guilty?

Everyone: (sweatdrop)


	13. Chapter 13: Ashes

Forbidden Memories Chapter 13

A/N: Er… gee, I haven't updated in a long time. A month, actually. Oh well. Thanks to MysticChaos for reviewing. And I KNOW there are more of you readers out there so I have a new policy. As long as you guys give me at least two reviews, I'll update. It's equivalent exchange, okay?

…and we're nearing the end of this story. Just to warn you, endings are… what I'm not good at… so basically be prepared... for my crappy ending, you know, the one I haven't thought of yet. Yah.

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Disclaimer: I don't own FMA.

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"Okay, that's it!" yelled Ed angrily. He stomped off, Al hurrying behind him.

"Brother! What are you doing?" signed Al. His (hollow) head was still spinning with confusion from the night's events. The sun had just begun to rise, illuminating the sky with a purple-ish pink.

"I'm going to get that stupid girl who thinks she can confuse me cause she's taller than me, and I'm gonna…" Ed's voice trailed off into inaudible mutterings.

"You're right! We have to find her, and make sure she didn't get hurt from the fire." Said Al, still trying to convince himself that she couldn't be the homunculus.

"I don't care if she's half-dead!" said Ed with a grumpy voice. "I'm going to get some answers form her." The hot-tempered alchemist continued to trudge down the street towards the headquarters, near where Pacifica's inn was located.

Al looked up at the sky again. Funny, it seemed more red than pink. Ed was still fuming up ahead, when he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"This is near the inn she was staying at! Ed?" Al ran up to his brother. "What is i-"

Al recognized it immediately. He remembered Cassandra's excited chatter as she went over all the details of her beloved purse, the rarity of the fine brown leather, the symbol embedded into its side, and the four strings of beads dangling out at the end. It had been her 40th birthday present, from her daughter. _From Pacifica_.

Next to it, dripping blood, was a hand.

Ed took a shaky step backwards. "W-What…"

"Is it hers?" asked Al in a soft voice. The purse looked exactly like Cassandra's, except now it was caked with dried blood. A pool of the same disgusting crimson liquid surrounded it.

Then, both Ed and Al looked up from the hand and to the street before them. When Ed's eyes finally focused, and his brain took in the sight, he caught his breath.

The buildings were spotted with deep red, after being blackened and charred from the fire. The destruction made its way to the end of the street. Everywhere they looked there was nothing but that color: red. Even if they had turned their sights upwards to the sky for protection, they would be met with a bleeding sky.

"Hey! What're you boys doing here?" a young military officer shouted and confronted the brothers. He had deep bags under his eyes from lack of sleep. "These are restricted grounds. All civilians must report to the shelters."

Ed calmly presented his pocket watch to him. The officer looked in surprise, opened his mouth to comment (about his height of course…), decided not to (smart guy…), and then simply saluted and said, "That way, sir."

"Thanks. Uh… do you know about anything that happened here?"

"Sorry, but no, sir. Lower ranking officers aren't allowed on the grounds." The officer hesitated and then added softly and secretly, "I've heard some rumors, though. It's a pretty gruesome sight just imagining it."

"Er, thanks for the warning," said Ed. The two walked slowly down the empty street, towards the site of destruction, making each step as short as possible. The city street was destroyed beyond recognition. As they neared the site, they noticed a familiar bulk of blue, Armstrong. Except there weren't any sparkles _and_ his shirt was still on.

Clearly, something was wrong.

"Edward! What are you two doing here?" asked Armstrong. His surprise and cheer was as fake as it could get.

"Oh, we just… WANTED TO KNOW WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!"

Armstrong took a quick look behind them where a group of officers stood, and said, "I think they're nearly done. We're not sure entirely, the display is very bizarre, but…"

"The whole building is gone!" exclaimed Al. "Where's Pacifica?"

"Yes, that's part of the mystery," said Armstrong. He paused for a second and continued, "Come. Let me show you."

The two brothers followed him towards the crowd of officers. They huddled around something, frowning and scratching their heads.

"We've left everything the way it was found," explained Armstrong. Two officers greeted them with surprise and then after a few urgent whispers, the small crowd dispersed.

"What's that?" asked Ed. The scene was nothing but rubble and ashes. Only the original steps towards the inn were intact, but… Was there something on top over there? Ed rushed towards it, with Al close behind, and Armstrong following slowly, and somewhat reluctantly.

It was a strange and haunting site. Among the desolate destruction, were three steps, and on top of them was a beautifully decorated, ornate purple vase.

"Is that it?" asked Ed, puzzled.

There was a pause and then, "No."

"What? I don't see anything."

"It was the only thing we moved. Under the steps."

Ed bent down his head and brushed away the hair from his eyes to see.

Ed wished he hadn't. One look sent a lingering chill down his spine. He found himself staring into the lifeless eyes of Pete. Actually, just Pete's head. Ed gave a strangled yell and stumbled backwards. A cold wind sprang up and blew across the rim of that mysterious vase, creating a haunting and unsettling sound.

"What is it, Ed?" Al said, surprised as his brother's reaction. He stooped down on one knee to look.

"Al… don't." whispered Ed. Too late.

Al screamed and jumped up. The vase toppled down the steps, sloshing something foul inside. Only his voice showed his alarm, "What (the f---) happened?" (Me: he didn't say it, but he meant it.)

"Armstrong, what happened?" Ed repeated the question. After a moment of silence, Ed rose up and stared at the steps again, "Don't tell me there's more…"

"No, just… the other head," said Armstrong uncomfortably.

"But… who?" cried Al. "Who would do such a thing? And why did they set it up like _this_?"

"I don't understand either, and as for the vase," said Armstrong, gesturing towards it, "we know for a fact that there are human remains inside it."

Their grim conversation was cut off suddenly by screams, and, eventually, gunfire. An officer was seen running as fast as he could towards them. He held his bleeding arm and yelled out in agony, "We're being attacked! We're--"

There was a sizzling sound and he sank to the ground. Ed, Al, and Armstrong rose in alarm.

"Is it her?"

Ed didn't reply.

And all the while, Pacifica watched, eyes widened in terror. She watched, helpless. She watched, as her blood-stained hands spread fear.

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A/N: Let's hope you won't have to wait another month for an update. Hehehe… and… REVIEW!


	14. Chapter 14: Lust's Discovery

Forbidden Memories Chapter 14

A/N: This chapter is late, and short. I'm really stupid. (sigh) Well, that can't be helped. Sorry I haven't updated for so long, I told myself I would update at least twice during the Holiday break but for some reason I just never got the chance to. Yeah, so basically I'm lazy. Oh well. I don't even know where the heck this story is going. Well, maybe I have some sort of picture in my mind… hm… I see pink poofballs. No, maybe not. You people out there reading this… where do you think it's going?

Envy: It's going to hell.

Me: (mutter) you're going with it.

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Ed readied himself for an attack, and it came promptly. Fear lunged from his left without warning. He ducked his head, and her hand just barely missed his face. A small gust of wind was created from the sheer force of the blow and it whipped his hair backwards.

Then he swiftly transmuted his metal arm into a knife and tripped her, all in one movement. Instead of falling she did a back flip and landed squarely to his right. Ed frowned in annoyance and lashed out. She dodged it easily, moving only if she needed to. Then he continued in a series of attacks from the left, right, and finally a slash that nearly caught the ends of her hair. She avoided every one and flipped over him, landing lightly behind him.

There was a small pause during the fight. Ed stood opposite of her, panting heavily from his frenzy of attacks. He glared at her viciously with his large golden eyes. She simply smiled, and stood there, as if expecting something from him.

"Ed, under you!" Al screamed. Ed looked down and jumped out of the way barely in time. The ground below him had slowly become like molten lava. A thin tendril of melted rock sizzled venomously where his feet were a few seconds before.

Ed landed a few feet away from it. He'd been lucky that time—his mechanical leg had saved him again. Only his pant leg had been seared away and part of his boot was scorched. He barely had any time to think as another one came out from behind him.

Al saw his brother frantically dodging blow after blow. Fear stood calmly a few feet away from him, her entire attention focused on Ed. Her mouth was curved in a pleased grin, and her eyes glinted as she looked on. Al cautiously stepped sideways a little, trying to step lightly so that his footsteps wouldn't make such a loud noise.

Ed, on the other hand, was slowly tiring from her never-ending crusade of attacks. He saw his brother slowly edging into a position behind her and decided to change tactics. He quickly dodged and then attacked.

Fear was mildly surprised when Ed broke into a run towards her. She made a mass of melted rock rise up in front of her to act as a shield, then watched as Ed clapped his hands and broke through it using alchemy. He lunged at her, but she sidestepped and tripped him, rendering him helpless on the ground.

But before she could do anything, familiar blue sparks erupted behind her. Al transmuted an iron fist that knocked her into the air. Ed followed up and produced a sharp spike that shot up from the ground and speared through her chest. She hung there limply and seemingly lifeless, but Ed knew his victory wouldn't last long. After all, she was a homunculus.

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Lust watched the feud between them from a tall building on the edge of the street. Gluttony sat beside her, dangling his legs over the side and drooling with a greedy look in his eyes. Every now and then his stomach would give an unpleasant squeal and he would look around hungrily. Lust watched Fear repeatedly attack Ed, disgusted at the triumphant smile on her face. Her thoughts wandered back to Envy's words.

"_She's not one of us."_

"…_we should be rid of her soon, the annoying nuisance."_

Two minds… and one soul, thought Lust as she pondered those words.

"_It's just a matter of time before I get rid of the other mind."_

_Just a matter of time._ Then it hit Lust. Fear had said it with such confidence that she hadn't noticed it before.

Lust smiled surreptitiously. Her weakness, Fear's weakness, she had found it. And there it was, right in front of her the whole time.

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Waiting and watching…

Watching and waiting…

It hurt to watch, and it hurt to wait, but it was all she could do, for now.


	15. Chapter 15: Creaking Hinges

Forbidden Memories Chapter 15

A/N: Read the stupid story.

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"Central Headquarters. May I help you?" Sloth answered the phone with the usual overused greeting. She sat at her desk, looking out the window to the streets below. The warm rays of the sun bathed the room in a golden glow. Sloth slowly got up to close the shades.

"I have a request, Sloth."

Sloth's face showed no sign of surprise when she recognized Lust's voice. But, by the time the phone conversation was over, a rare smile was playing on her lips. She quickly closed the shades, enveloping the radiating room in shadow. Letting out a long, satisfied sigh, she abandoned her other duties and extracted something from her drawer.

A young officer knocked on the door. "I have a message for the Fuhrer."

After a moment of silence, he tentatively stepped inside.

"H-hello?" His voice sounded meek and timid, afraid of being caught unawares by one of his superiors.

When nobody answered, he breathed a sigh in relief. Then, as his eyes strayed to the secretary's desk, he became puzzled at the sight there. A small pool of water remained at the spot near the window, but instead of remaining there, it had climbed up the wall, through the window, to the outside.

He shrugged off his confusion and left the message on her desk.

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As Ed had expected, Fear recovered quickly. She cleanly melted away the spike and in a few seconds was standing unfazed before him. Then she started to sink into the ground, melting everything beneath her.

Ed and Al stood at ready, alert for any signs of Fear. They jumped away as two tentacle-like things (sweatdrop I don't know what else to call them…) of magma lashed out at them. This continued for a while, and while they were preoccupied, Fear emerged. Skillfully and silently, she materialized right behind Al.

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Pacifica watched everything closely. She had already accepted the fact that this body was no longer hers. Everything was completely out of control. She couldn't move any part of her body—she was completely paralyzed.

And yet, they still moved.

There was something else there with her. _Fear_. That, she had known for years. How it got there, she still couldn't fathom. It was there, and it was in control.

For some time, things had been the other way around. It, not her, had been the one waiting hidden inside her body. But slowly, it had taken control. It had pushed her out of existence.

But she still existed.

Strangely, there was some sort of connection between them. It seemed unusually familiar to her, and, at the same time, completely foreign. All of her emotions were open to it, and all of its emotions were open to her. Lately though, it had stopped acknowledging her existence, as if she had simply dissolved.

It was clear now. Pacifica knew what it wanted to achieve. Its goal was simple—control of her body. It wanted to have her existence.

She wasn't going to simply hand it over. It had a weakness like everything else. All she had to do was wait, and the time would come.

_Any moment now…_

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Ed saw Fear rise slowly from the ground, behind an unsuspecting Al. He stared, horrified, as she shifted her body into an attacking stance.

"Al!" he screamed. At Ed's warning, Al turned his head. In that same instance, Fear plunged her hand into his back.

Everything seemed to slow down. Al gasped as he felt her hand brush against the blood seal inside him. He felt an unreal sensation, as if she had touched his very soul. Slowly, control of his armored body began to diminish. The feeling increased as Fear pushed her hand further and further in. A burst of clear white light appeared before his eyes and obscured everything. In his mind he heard hinges turning, ones that bore the weight of heavy doors.

"_Al!_"

The cry echoed slowly in his mind and vanished without recognition.

"Al!" It came again, but this time it was louder than the hinges. Momentarily, he was back. He saw Ed running towards him, despair etched on his face, and he saw Fear as she pushed her hand into him.

"AL!" Ed cried out one last time.

"_Alexis!"_

He made as if to lunge at Fear, but it was not necessary. Fear stood there, stock still, shock clearly showing on her face. Slowly, she drew back her hand and let Al's armored figure drop to the ground. She stood unmoving, gazing fearfully at something invisible before her.

"_Alexis!" A young woman with curly brown hair leaned over a small crumpled figure in the middle of a street. She kneeled there, tears falling endlessly from her face, regardless of all the commotion around her. The police were already there, surveying the damage and averting traffic. Two overturned cars lay ignored on the sides of the road. Passerby looked on, unsure of what to say to comfort the mourning mother._

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A/N: Review the stupid story. (sigh) I just want to get this over with quickly.


	16. Chapter 16: I Want to Live

Forbidden Memories Chapter 16

A/N: Hehe… I haven't updated for a long time, have I? –sweatdrop-

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Ed's hands shook violently as he wrenched open the front plate of Al's armor. He forced back frightened sobs into the back of his throat so that it all hung there like a frozen lump. The plate grated loudly when it was moved and clattered noisily on the floor.

"Al…" he whispered softly and urgently, and then took his first look inside the armor.

The blood seal was still there.

Ed found himself suddenly relieved of all the nervous tensions he'd accumulated in the last 10 minutes. Fear's aim had missed its fatal mark; a gaping hold was off center in the armor, its borders painfully close to the seal's edge. If Fear had gotten him any deeper, Al would've simply ceased to exist.

Ed shuddered at the thought and waved it off his mind. He didn't want to think about it, especially after these events that had shaken him more than he would have liked. He clapped his hands together and carefully fixed the hole in a shower of blue sparks.

"Ed?" Al's armor clanked as he slowly sat up. He sounded dazed, but suddenly got his bearing. "Ed! Where's F-"

"Ed?"

Both brothers looked up to see who had spoken. Fear stood there with a lost expression on her face. She looked towards them helplessly.

"…Al?" She took a step towards them, and then stopped. "It's me."

Al stood up and turned towards her. "Pacifica…" he murmured as if recalling some long lost memory. The Elric brothers stood looking at her, and she stared back. Nobody moved.

Ed broke the uneasy silence that had come between them. He gazed at her, his golden eyes clearly showing confusion and trouble from the turn of events, and demanded, "Who are you?"

Pacifica looked at them, and then examined her own hand curiously, as if she didn't who she was anymore. She let it drop to her side slowly and said with a sad smile on her face, "I'm not sure…"

She turned to leave. The Elric brothers made no attempt to stop her until she'd reached the other side of the street. Then Ed sprang forward and yelled angrily, "Where is Fear?"

"Right here." She pointed to herself.

"I wont forgive you," said Ed with hostility showing clearly in his voice, "for what you did to Al."

"Then kill her."

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Sloth moved quickly, at the speed of… well, water. She smiled inwardly to herself as she sped down the evacuated streets. Fear was now officially her responsibility, and the first and final objective was clear. She knew too much, and since she was clearly not on their side, she would have to be eliminated.

"Take out the bad part," murmured Sloth to herself, remembering the previous death she had planned and carried out.

As she reached the site, she frowned when she saw the blue-uniformed bulk of Major Armstrong. She transformed back to the shape of Juliet Douglas, the secretary.

"Hello, Major," she said, bowing her head and smiling politely. A shadow fell upon her as the major walked up to her.

"Don't give me that bull, Sloth."

"Oh," she said, apparently disappointed, "It's you."

As an answer, Envy transformed back to his normal form, smirking like an idiot. (Can't you tell he's my favorite character?)

"What are you doing here?" demanded Sloth.

"Oh, I was bored," he replied matter-o-factly, "so I wanted to see what you had in store for Mrs. I'm-so-scary."

He started off in the direction towards them. Sloth simply sighed and followed.

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"What do you mean?" asked Ed. He was caught by surprise in her answer.

"You know very well what I mean, Ed," said Pacifica. "You want to kill her, don't you?"

"Yes," he murmured, and looked down, trying to sort out the thoughts in his head.

Al looked at the two and said, "Wait, this isn't making any sense. Ed, if you try to kill Fear then… you…" He turned to Pacifica.

"Do you want to kill her or not?" demanded Pacifica.

"I do," said Ed slowly, "I… I want to rip her apart after what she did to Al. She's dangerous to everybody around her. I don't want anybody to get hurt."

"And you, Al?" She looked at him squarely in the eyes.

"I do too," said Al right away, and then added, "but I don't want to hurt you…"

A silence ensued, and then Pacifica began to speak.

"If you two want to kill me, then I'll tell you this. I want… to live, and," she looked away, "I'm not afraid to hurt you. I've accepted the fact that I'm not alone in this body anymore. There's no way you can stop Fear without killing me. I'm not on your side."

"So now," yelled Ed. "…Now you're telling me that you're going to help _her_?"

Pacifica stated simply, "We are one now."

"But that means—"

"So be it."

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A/N: YAY! You've read it! Now review before I flatten you.

And thanks to those who have already reviewed! That would be **Mr. Scarface**, **MysticChaos**, **White Alchemist Taya**, **LonelyLord**, and **Johanna-wind**! You all rule. TT-TT I love my reviewers…

Oh, and Mengting… **I KNOW YOU'RE READING THIS SO YOU'D BETTER REVIEW.**


	17. Chapter 17: Forbidden Memories

Forbidden Memories 17 

Fear abruptly came back to her sense. What was going on? Her muscles were moving on their own. Again. Then, realization hit her- control had momentarily shifted, to Pacifica.

Alright then, she thought, you can have control for now.

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Fear had awoken again. Pacifica knew it from the uncomfortable feeling she had received. She turned to leave, with Ed and Al still looking quite speeckless.

Ed glared at her as she left for the second time. After causing so much trouble, she was walking away as if she wasn't at fault. He opened his mouth to say something but was stopped when a sharp object flew past his cheek towards her.

With the reflexes of a homunculi, Pacifica caught it without a glance. Then she opened up her palm and stared at the object in her hand. Abruptly, she closed her fingers over it again and turned to see who had thrown it. Other than Ed and Al, there was nobody there except for a trickle of water slithering down the rubble…

Pacifica gasped and turned around just in time to see Sloth take form in front of her. The other mind in her head suddenly became much more alive and twitched in protest. Her foot moved backwards. She felt a sharp twinge of pain in her head that grew until she couldn't bear it no longer, and suddenly, found herself relinquishing control.

888888

The moment she had glimpsed the necklace in her hand, Fear acted. Faster than she could think it possible, she wrenched control from the girl and flung the necklace towards the still liquid form of Sloth. Sloth caught it just as she solidified with the usual deceiving smile on her face.

"I guess you were right after all, Envy," she sighed, "It didn't work."

"It'll be useful, though."

"I'll leave the rest to you, then," Sloth replied.

All four people turned their heads towards the direction of his voice. Envy sat on the rooftop, dangling his legs. He casually waved, much to Ed's annoyance, and jumped down.

"You…" breathed Fear, her multi-colored eyes narrowed angrily.

Fast as lightning, Envy attacked. Fear blocked him, but he (if you can call him a he…) managed to trip her. He took advantage of her mistake and put her into a headlock.

Instinctively, Fear would have burned his skin off upon contact, but just then, Envy changed form. He let Fear break away, and stare.

And she stared. The young, curly brown-haired women smiled back with a tender gaze. She had sparkling blue eyes and pale pink lips. She drew closer and uttered a name.

But it wasn't Alexis, or Fear, or Pacifica.

It was _Samantha_.

As Fear stared, so did Pacifica, but more so in wonder, for she had seen this woman before—small glimpses and blurred recognitions in vague dreams. The face was familiar, and yet she had no inkling of who it was. Just looking at her gave her a warm feeling, and she thought of happy times, but these thoughts soon gave way to a cold abyss, littered with gloominess.

Joy, cheer, excitement, love, resentment, loneliness, jealousy, even fear—all those emotions poured out of her at the sight of that strange woman.

And she had called her Samantha. Who was she?

Pacifica longed to reply, to ask her who she was, and what she had to do with her, but when she opened her mouth, her mouth didn't open. Instead, her feet led her to the opposite direction.

Fear backed away. She had taken only a few steps when she was confronted by Ed, who looked extremely confused. And since he obviously disliked being confused, he decided it would be best to scream at the top of his lungs:

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"

Everyone just froze and looked at him as if he'd materialized out of nowhere. Envy, who had already adopted his normal form snickered from behind. So, Sloth decided to state the obvious, "Getting rid of Fear. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"I never asked-"

Ed was interrupted again but Envy, who had finally stopped laughing. Ignoring Ed, he stood behind Fear, and grinned evilly. "Your time has run out."

"What-"

"I know your weakness." Envy said, and continued, "Just as every single one of us has one. Unfortunately, once we've figured it out, you're existence is in extreme danger."

"I have no weakness," said Fear, "I'm not like you."

"Yes, yes. You're special," agreed Envy, "but don't get too excited. Why do you think you were even named Fear? Look at all of us.

"There's gluttony, always hungry. And Sloth here is extremely lazy. Greed was greedy as hell and the idiot didn't even den it. You are, in this case, no different.

"You live in constant fear, not of anything around you, but of yourself. The day of the transmutation, you joined with the girl out of fear for you survival. You entered her mind, and made sure to lock away every single one of her memories. Now, for every single second of your existence, you fear the possibility that she'll break through that barrier, so you've tried to destroy everything around her, to keep her in a constant state of guilt and confusion."

Ed and Al stood there, shocked. Everything was adding up now—her amnesia, the fires, the purple vase… Both of them was wondering the same this. Was Pacifica listening?

Pacifica was doing nothing but listening. She felt the urge more than ever now—she wanted to unlock them, her _forbidden memories_.

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A/N: Yeah! Done with this chapter! I hope you guys are content with it, its longer than usual. I guess I do owe you some though… my last chapters haven't been very lengthy… hehe… So for you abundance of reviews, this is my gift! (…please ignore the fact that I haven't updated for 3 weeks.) So I'll go back to being lazy now… AAGH!

MC (MysticChaos): (assaulting me with pinecones)

Me: What was that for?

MC: …nothing in particular. I don't even know why I'm here. (continues assault)

Me: I hate you…

(giant explosion)

MT (mengting): (carring giant bazooka) WHERE IS SHE?

Me: Where is who?

MT: (sees me) Gasp! YOU!

Me: Uh-oh. Not good. I think I'll leave now. (tries to run but bumps into somebody)

Me: (looks up)… A- Ansem?

MC: (stops throwing pinecones) (crazy gleam in eye) Ansem…? _Kingdom Hearts_ Ansem?

Me: (about to reply when a certain 4th grader attacks me) OMG! What did I ever do to you, Mengting?

MT: (glare) How about not updating for 3 WHOLE WEEKS!

Me: (whisper) I was a good girl…

MC: HOLY SHIT IT'S ANSEM! KH RULES! But wait… this is an FMA Fanfic… what are you doing here? (looks closer)

…

…

AAAAAAAAH! IT BUUUUUUUUURNS!

(all of a sudden Ansem starts flexing his muscles.)

MC: NEVER IN MY LIFE—WHAT THE F--- ARE YOU DOING ARMSTRONG?

Me: Well… It _is_ a FMA Fanfic…

MC: SO THIS WAS _YOUR_ INVENTION! DIE!

Me: (running for life) (sob) All my reviewers are after me… aren't they…

MC: Gotcha!

Me: NOOO!

(End.)

(My ghost walks up to you… REVIEEEW…. OR MEET MY WRATH.)


	18. Chapter 18: Moving On

Forbidden Memories Chapter 18

Disclaimer: Me no own FMA.

A/N: Let's not talk about how long it took me to update. Schoolwork, as usual, was getting in the way. …I feel kinda guilty for leaving you guys hanging…

BUT NO MATTER! I shall continue!

Enjoy.

* * *

(You probably forgot what happened last time.) 

_Ed and Al stood there, shocked. Everything was adding up now—her amnesia, the fires, the purple vase… Both of them was wondering the same this. Was Pacifica listening?_

_Pacifica was doing nothing but listening. She felt the urge more than ever now—she wanted to unlock them, her forbidden memories._

* * *

And then, everything happened in one instant. The meeting between two homunculi, two alchemists, and a very confused girl was cut short. Sounds of marching feet soon reached their ears—the military was coming. Envy, Sloth, and Fear had to run. Ed and Al needed an explanation. 

Envy and Sloth left first, one in a splash of water and the other like a black shadow zipped quickly away. Fear stayed behind for a moment, her face turned away from Ed and Al. She let out a deep sigh and then on quick and agile legs escaped. The two brother alchemists stayed there and met up with Major Armstrong.

Armstrong looked inquiringly at Ed and then Al, but was answered by both with silence. He decided to avoid asking questions until later; they both looked beat, even Al.

"You boys should get some rest," he said.

Ed looked up at him, his golden eyes reflecting an unspoken understanding between them. He made as if to go, faltered, and then said, "I don't know if I should."

Armstrong remained firm. "Get some rest."

With a weary sigh, Ed resented. He and Al clanked back to their beds. The night was spent with restless sleep.

* * *

It was time to move on. It was a sad existence, really. Pacifica sighed. But, she would have to live the rest of her life as this. Maybe one day she would find her memories again. They were out there somewhere; they had to be. She knew would not be at peace with herself unless she found them. She would move on, even if it meant having to live with the monster inside of her. 

She jumped down from the overhanging branch and landed on Ed and Al's windowsill. From outside she saw Ed toss and turn in his sleep. Cautiously, she slipped open the window. It opened without a noise. Then, she held a carefully creased note near the opening, and let go. She let the cold wind blow it so that it fluttered in by itself.

Then she straightened up from the sill and leaped into the night.

* * *

Envy grinned happily. His work was done. Never again would Fear or Pacifica trouble the homunculi's plans. 

"Are you just going to let her go?" questioned Sloth's quiet voice.

"She won't be back. She's too much of a coward."

But was it really cowardly? Unanswered questions still weighed heavily upon Sloth's heart. She had given up her memories long ago, her memories of being Trisha. She had then tried to become a new person, separate from what she was back then. And now, Pacifica was setting out to find hers.

Envy chuckled at her silence and added, "Everybody chooses their own poison."

* * *

Ed stiffened when he heard the window creak ever so slightly (His ears are trained to be highly sensitive so he can pick up a 'short' insult from a mile away). He felt eyes looking at him from behind, and steadied his breathing cautiously to look asleep. When he heard no other noises he turned. 

There was nothing there, only the cold night wind and a creased note fluttering on the ground. He shivered a little and got up to close the window. He blinked. There was a fingerprint imbedded in the glass. IN the glass. Only one person could have done this…

He looked down at the note, and then set himself next to it. He took a look.

_Dear Ed and Al,_

_This is probably the last you'll ever hear from me. I'm moving on now, and I just wanted to say sorry for all the trouble I caused, and all that whatnot. So… sorry. Good luck on finding what you're looking for._

_Pacifica_

Ed set the note on the bedside table, and went back to bed.

The next morning… 

Ed wasted no time in showing his brother the note. He waited while Al read it.

"Moving on… I wonder what that means," said Al. The sunlight from the open window glinted on his armor. As he shuffled his big clanky self, reflections of light on the walls moved in rhythm.

"Knowing her, she's probably going after her memories."

Al nodded. He knew what it was like when one finds out that their memories were fake. At least, when he _thought_ his memories were fake. If it really were true he would probably be doing the same thing. "So we're going to let her go, then, right?"

Ed gave a lazy grunt in agreement. "I don't see what else we can do. Going after her would be a pain in the butt. Besides, we have more important things to focus on."

The two went out of the room to breakfast.

It wasn't the last they heard from her.

* * *

Two Years Later… 

Pacifica was in a good mood; she had recently earned herself a new job in a flower shop. The owner was very nice and gave her a room to stay. She was now living in a small rural town named Burrstone. It was small but peaceful, and the people there were very outward and opening. Most importantly, the town was very close to a big railroad track. Many travelers passed here to stay for the night.

It had been hard at first, living a basically nomadic life. She had to be careful of her other self. There were days where she had to chain and lock herself up when her alter ego took over. Sometimes even that wouldn't work, and it would end up in disaster. She would have to leave that town and go to another. But she always managed to fight and get back her control.

She wrinkled her nose at the aurora or smells in the store. Every species of country flowers were somehow all there. In the corner were bouquets of roses, and to the other wall was a selection of dried but sweet-smelling plants. They also had some medicinal herbs and other whatnot.

A man in a big brown traveling coat stood looking at some of the flowers. He looked as if he was pondering whether or not to get them.

"May I help you?" Pacifica asked, putting on her friendliest tone possible.

"Yes…" the man said, not looking up from the flowers. "These little white ones, do you know what they're called?"

"Uh…," stammered Pacifica. "I've only been working here for a day so…" (So botany was never really one of her interests.)

"That's okay," the man smiled and looked at her the first time. His reaction was unexpected. He sort of jumped and then stared at her like she was a ghost. Then he shook his head as if contradicting what he had just thought.

"Is there something on my face?"

"Well, as a matter of fact, yes," the man said. It sounded as if the humor in it was forced. Pacifica wiped away the remnants of ketchup. There was an awkward silence between them.

"What's your name?" The question sounded hesitant.

Pacifica frowned inwardly, thinking, _What's this old fart's problem?_ But, she composed herself and replied with a smile, "Pacifica. Nice to meet you."

There was a look of relief on his face. He formed his mouth into a big grin and said with cheer, "I'm sorry, it's just that you look a lot like my wife. You know, there are look-alikes everywhere. Let me introduce myself, my name is Matthew."

"Can I call you Matt?"

"Sure."

"Well, let me know if you need anything more, Matt."

Pacifica left him there, but she could still feels his eyes gazing at her curiously. When she tilted her head slightly to look at him, he gave a fake cough and turned away. She grew suspicious of him and immediately labeled him _shady old perv._

Matthew couldn't explain the similarity. They had the same eyes, the same hair, face, lips, even the same aroma. He needed to know more. Quietly he peeled off the price tag for the flowers and called her over, "Excuse me, Pacifica, how much are theses?"

"I don't know, maybe you should ask the crinkled price tag in your left hand," replied Pacifica. She loved how she could make her voice cold and sarcastic at will.

Matt looked sheepish at being caught at such an idiotic attempt. "I'm sorry, it's just that… you look so much like her."

"Your wife?"

"Yes, my wife. She died a long time ago. This was the town where we stayed. It was the same place where we met and got married, and had our first children." he sighed, and indicated the white flowers. "These were her favorites. Her grave is a little beyond the Hill."

"It must have been hard for you." Pacifica lost the cold demeanor she had managed to put on before.

"I wasn't much of a good husband in the first place. I was always away from them, my wife and my two twin daughters. They were the most adorable little things in the world. But… there was a fir--"

"You should buy the flowers for her," Pacifica cut in when his voice started cracking.

He was hesitant. "I don't know if she'll forgive me."

Pacifica just took the money that was in his other hand and shoved the flowers in his face.

* * *

Matthew walked slowly up the steep, grassy hill. A mild breeze ruffled his coarse brown hair. Two gravestones awaited him at the top. Guilt poured over him but he saw no point in feeling sorry for himself anymore. He stooped down and looked at the names: 

**Kimberly Madeline Mille**

and

**Alexandra Joann Mille**

He set the flowers down, half on one, half on the other.

* * *

A/N: Yay! Chapter finished! I know it's a very drastic change from what you've been reading before, but bear with me... that was kinda getting boring anyways.

A thank you to everybody who reviewed! So... er... review some more okay?


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